Will the Rapids ever be able to afford a player like Wayne Rooney in his prime?

Tomorrow, two top-flight European football clubs -- AS Roma (Serie A, Italy) and Manchester United (Premiere League, England) -- square off at Mile High Stadium in the 2014 International Champions Cup.

How would the hometown Colorado Rapids stack up against either of these touring powerhouses? Salary-wise, we know the answer: not well.

Does higher pay equate to better play? Well, in a round of five exhibition games between MLS and Premiere League teams played last Wednesday, Premiere League teams went 4-0-1 with a combined score of 17-5. The honeymoon period after the World Cup has a lot of us high on soccer, but the Colorado Rapids still have a long way to go before the team can legitimately compete with teams like Man U and Roma.

The Rapids play home games at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, which has a capacity of around 18,000 seats. Compare that to the 70,000+ people expected to attend Saturday's game and it's hard to question the European dominance of professional soccer. Although the Rapids have a solid fan base and 2010 MLS Cup to its credit, the franchise is a financial flea next to professional teams in England and Italy.

In contrast, Tsmplug reported AS Roma's total player salary output at a little under $124,000,000. That may look like small potatoes compared to Man U's massive payroll -- but consider the low seven-figure payroll for the 2014 Rapids released by the MLS players association, and it's hard to see the MLS putting together a team that can play with the big kids any time soon.

AS Roma is one of Italy's most storied soccer teams and consistently finishes at the top of its league.

AS Roma was founded in 1927, almost seventy years before the Rapids were born. The near-seven extra decades has given the club ample time to give themselves much deeper pockets than the Rapids currently have. Check out how much Roma players make per year according to tsmplug.com. By the way, both Man U's and Roma's payroll were reported in Eurodollars and converted.

AS Roma Payroll

Daniele de Rossi -- $8,740,331

Francesco Totti -- $6,050,998

Maicon -- $4,034,255

Kevin Strootman -- $3,092,841

Gervinho -- $3,092,841

Miralem Pjanic -- $2,823,791

Adem Ljajic -- $2,554,859

Leandro Castan -- $2,151,575

Federico Balzaretti -- $2,017,102

Mattia Destro -- $1,748,159

Mehdi Benatia -- $1,680,922

Morgan De Sanctis -- $1,479,282

Vassilios Torosidis -- $1,344,802

Rodrigo Taddei -- $1,344,802

Marquinho -- $1,344,802

Alessandro Florenzi -- $1,143,142

Tin Jedvaj -- $874,106

Dodo -- $806,867

Lukasz Skorupski -- $672,343

Julio Sergio -- $470,640

Bogdan Lobont -- $470,640

Alessio Romagnioli -- $403,421

Gianluca Caprari -- $336,184

Edson Buddle, the highest-paid Rapids player at $325,000, doesn't even make as much as Roma's lowest-paid player, Gianluca Caprari. Major League Soccer is beginning to look pretty minor in the grand scheme of fútbol.

Continue to see how poor the Rapids are compared to Man U.

Manchester United's rabid fanbase helps pay its huge salaries.

If you thought Roma players were paid handsomely, wait until you see what Manchester United pays its talent. Here's what Manchester United players make according to tsmplug.com:

Manchester United Payroll

Ben Amos -- $884,000

Paul Scholes -- $5,304,000

Darren Fletcher -- $7,072,000

Anders Lindegaard -- $3,536,000

Ryan Giggs -- $6,630,000

Patrice Evra -- $4,862,000

Rio Ferdinand -- $10,166,000

Nemanja Vidic -- $7,956,000

Juan Mata -- $13,260,000

Nick Powell -- $408,000

Chris Smalling -- $4,420,000

Jonny Evans -- $5,746,000

Rafael da Silva -- $3,496,688

Michael Carrick -- $6,188,000

Ashley Young -- $10,608,000

Antonio Valencia -- $7.956,000

Nani -- $8,398,000

Wilfried Zaha -- $3,094,000

Marouane Fellaini -- $5,593,900

Adnan Januzaj -- $5,593,900

Tom Cleverley -- $3,536,000

David de Gea -- $6,188,000

Danny Welbeck -- $6,630,000

Phil Jones -- $4,420,000

Javier Hernandez -- $6,630,000

Shinji Kagawa -- $8,398,000

Wayne Rooney -- $18,100,000

Robin van Persie -- $20,740,000

Alexander Buttner -- no longer with team

No, your eyes aren't fucking with you. The Colorado Rapids' entire payroll could only pay for two of Man U's current contracted players. Man U manager Louis Van Gaal's salary of $7,528,753 more than doubles what the Rapids make collectively.